Thursday, 8 August 2013

Beetroot, apple and walnut scones for International Scone Week

When Celia announced international scone week this week, I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to make. As so often happens I got distracted. Fortunately when I roasted some beetroot for beetroot hummus, I remembered to set one aside for Simone's lovely Beetroot, Apple and Pistachio scones. Only I had decided to use walnuts instead of pistachio.

Mine were slightly less marbled than Simone's scones. I even wondered if it would be better to stir in the beetroot after doing the food processor. Maybe. The scones looked very pink. Until they were opened and were revealed to be a bit brown on the inside. I opted not to add sugar. The scones needed it. I was wrong when I thought my soy milk and the veg and fruit and would sweet enough. The beetroot and apple make them soft but their flavours get a little lost. The walnuts are more noticeable in a subtle way.

If you look closely you might see that these are the sort of scones that you can wrap in your Downton Abbey tea towel. I also found them great with vegemite and beetroot hummus. I suspect that would be frowned upon by Mr Carson of Downton. He does like to uphold all traditions. (We finished watching Series 3 on DVD this week. Even traditions can't keep tragedy from the door!) And I was grateful to the scones for using up an apple that had been half eaten by Sylvia.

It is not too late to bake some scones and send them to Celia. Happy international scone week everyone!

Lightly grease a baking tray. Preheat oven to 190 C (I preheated mine to 210 C because it is slow.)

Mix butter, dry ingredients and beetroot in a food processor until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (or rub butter into ingredients with your fingers) Transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in the apple and walnuts. Then gently stir in milk until you have a sticky dough.

Lightly knead for a minute on a floured surface until you have a smooth dough. Pat out to a square of about 1/2 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut into four (or three) strips horizontally and then four strips vertically to make 12 or 16 square scones.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. (Check bottoms to see if golden brown to confirm they are cooked). Wrap scones in a teatowel to keep soft. Best eaten on day of baking.

On the Stereo:The End of the Rainbow: An Introduction to Richard and Linda Thompson

Thanks Hannah - how funny that salty vegemite makes a lack of sugar ok :-) I quite liked the scones cold the next day and wondered if they did need sugar after all - am still not sure - if only I had time to experiment with lots of batches of the one recipe

Oh, these are excellent!! I love the look and sound of them and wish I didn't have to go to work so I could stay home and make a batch. I also liked your references to Downton Abbey and whilst they might view these scones as too untraditional for afternoon tea, I'd enjoy one whilst watching a Downton episode. Except, of course, that all episodes will be clouded by tragedy after they chose to end Season 3 that way...humph.

Thanks Kari - baking scones at home in winter is a great reason not to go to work :-) Yes the Downton writers don't like everyone to get too happy and smug. But what's wrong with being able to smile at life :-)

Thanks Cass - it is a fun food day to celebrate - and just the right time of year for us (well Celia is an Aussie too) Stewed fruit would be lovely with these scones - or the lovely raspberry and rhubarb jam I bought at the farmers market this morning!

Thanks Lorraine - I posted about these scones when they were still warm. Once they cooled I could detect grated apple in them and also noticed the walnuts more but not the beetroot. But scones are meant to be warm. Hope you have some nice scones soon.

Oh I like the look of these, all pink as they are. They sound delicious too and I like the fact you didn't add sugar to them as I assumed they were savoury scones anyway. I meant to make scones for Celia's event, but it looks as though this is the second year I will have missed. I still haven't grasped where all the time goes ......!

Thanks Choclette - I was a bit unsure from the recipe if they were savoury or not but I wanted them for dinner so I thought if I left out of the sugar I would make sure they were savoury. Celia's even is great - but yes the time just seems to go so quickly

I've done that before, thought the fruit would add enough sweet and realizing it needed a little help. I'm one to not add a lot of sweetener if I can help it. I love the color of your scones. When my girls were little they would have loved having tea with pink scones. :)

I am honored you liked my recipe and glad you liked the result of your rendition. I love the idea of pairing them with beet hummus. And of course, the association with Downton Abbey made me smile. I watched season 1 and liked it a lot: I know I am behind. (We got distracted by other series.) I also love to bake scones and seem to continuously come up with variations. They are one of my best food memories of my London study vacations years ago.

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.